Trapped
by Realilly
Summary: Holly is trapped in a cage, Butler is trapped in his words, and Artemis is trapped in his mind. Oneshot.


**(A/N: Yay! Another songfic! This one very dark…well, kind of. :D You decide…well, actually, it is. I'll just tell you know. I don't know how I can write such cute, fluffy HP stories, and then such dark, dramatic AF. What is my problem:D The song: Say It Right by Nelly Furtado.)**

**Trapped by ckontowderdon32**

Shuffles…footsteps…echoes off of the cold stone walls. Holly sat there, leaning against the bars, eyes closed. There was no point to opening them—she knew what was there in front of her and she knew who was coming, who would emerge from the shadows in front of the hallway that branched from her room.

She released the breath in her lungs, then took in new air, chest expanding. She didn't know how long she had been in there, how many days (although she had a good idea), and she didn't know if it was night or day. She could pretend not to care.

"You seem happy enough."

Holly was surprised at how quickly he had come, but showed no outward signs of shock. She refused to give him that satisfaction.

"What makes you think that?" she asked, her voice completely flat.

"You're breathing. You should be grateful."

"To be alive? That's not a privilege, that's a right." Still no compassion, no feeling.

He inclined his head and Holly, through slitted eyes, saw it. He studied her for a moment with his eyes, probing her face. Upon her stiff resilience, he conceded and said, "Very well. You can only fight for so long…Butler!"

Butler must have been waiting right outside of the room, for he was at Artemis's side in a second. "Yes, Master Artemis?"

"Master?!" spat Holly in disgust, opening her eyes and then blinking rapidly as the lamp's light cut through the darkness.

Artemis frowned at her, eyes squinting. "Yes?" he asked. "Do Butler's words surprise you?"

"What happened to your name?"

"I was under the impression that he said my name."

"What's with the Master?" Holly finally said through gritted teeth, glaring at his clear blue eyes.

"What is wrong with being addressed correctly?"

"You are no one's master."

"I am his." He stared back coldly. He didn't care about her…not anymore.

Holly gave up. He had caved into the darkness…No, he _was_ the darkness.

"Why are you here." She didn't say it as a question.

"To conduct the daily tests."

"What daily tests? You've never conducted any before."

"There is a beginning for everything. Butler, release her," he said, turning to his bodyguard. Butler nodded almost imperceptibly, opening the door to her prison.

"Holly," he murmured, holding onto her left arm tightly, helping her down.

"Butler!' Artemis snapped. "No conversing with the prisoner. Must I imprint that in your mind?"

Butler's head fell. "Yes, Master."

Anger and sadness fused together welled up inside Holly. Butler was being broken, and she would be too unless she fought.

She scratched and fought and bit, trying to release the man's hold on her. But he just stood there, gazing at Artemis with the saddest look on his face.

Artemis smirked at her, enjoying her antics. "You are a great source of amusement."

"What about before!" Holly shouted, the last word echoing in the halls, bouncing along the stone.

Artemis's composure slipped, and there was surprise on his face for a moment, as if he remembered. But in a flash the cold look was back, and Holly was still burning angry. Her eyes showed her fire inside, and he saw it. It annoyed him—he wanted to put it out.

_Slowly,_ he thought. _She will die eventually. And she will be the first in a million._

"Butler," he said, "the tests." Then he left, his shiny black shoes clicking against the floor, the stone cold floor.

Holly stared at where the shoes had walked. "What tests?" she whispered, her eyes transfixed.

Butler held her with one arm as he reached inside his pocket for a remote control. Clicking a button, a metal door slid across the opening, then slammed shut.

_Cold, _Holly thought,_ so cold…_

He let go of her completely. He shook his head sadly. "Just many measurements and a few simple tests. Reflexes and such."

"What's with the cage?" Holly asked, glancing behind her at it in irritation.

"If you are in an animal's environment, an animal's cage, in his mind you will become an animal. He can pretend you're not Holly."

"Why is he like this?" she demanded. "I mean, what happened?"

Butler closed his eyes. "It has nothing to do with you, Holly."

"How can you say that?!" she screeched in fury. "I'm in some goddamned cage inside a labyrinth of stone, and I haven't seen daylight in almost a week! And now he wants some kind of tests! How can you _say_ that?"

He looked straight into her eyes, his sorrow battling her anger. "His family is gone, Holly."

Holly flinched. "What?"

"Family picnic. Artemis wasn't feeling very well, but he urged them to go. They went, and were caught on grassy field, with nowhere to hide. Machine gun. No, they weren't targets, but they witnessed a robbery and the guy panicked," Butler answered Holly's open mouth. She closed it. "He was never the same. Something died inside him that day, seeing the bloody, limp bodies of the twins, his mother, and his father.

"He blames himself. Not only did he urge them to go, because he knows that if he had asked them to stay they would've, but he lost years when he saved the demon colony. He would have had years to spend with his father and more time with the twins."

"So why…"

"Cage you? He wants to extinguish everyone who is a reminder to his past. Then he can forget."

"Who else will he—who has he—"

"You are the first. He wants to rid the entire fairy population."

Holly gaped at him. "He's insane!! He can't do that!!!"

"He will, Holly."

"Well…why am I first? Or was my name drawn from a hat?" she asked bitterly.

"You are the closest to him."

"What? He's acting—"

"Holly, he still loves you _very_ much. But he's giving you up. I wouldn't be surprised to see tears when he sees you…dead."

"My death is worth his tears."

"No, but—"

"Well then, _what_?"

"Holly, you can be saved. You could save _him_."

Holly shook her head, then gasped. "But what about _you_…"

"What? How would _I_ save him?"

"No, no," Holly said hurriedly, "what about you? Will you die?"

Butler looked away. "Yes, I will. In the end, after all else have fallen."

Holly now understood his sadness, though not necessarily just for his own life.

"Now, the tests."

After an hour, Holly had been measured almost every possible way. Her reflexes had been tested with a ball, along with hand-and-eye coordination, a few elementary math problems, and logic questions.

There was a thick silence during the whole period.

Butler gathered up his things, then led Holly very carefully into the cage. She went without resistance.

"Remember," he whispered, then left, the metal door grinding open.

Holly watched him leave, then leaned back against the bars and closed her eyes.

In the distance, she heard a whistle through the air, a crack, and a thud. This was repeated several times.

Holly imagined his pain, wincing, and wondered how she could save him.

This went on for two weeks, although Butler now never spoke to her. She saw the bandages wrapped painfully and loosely around his back. She did not see Artemis.

"Kill her today." Artemis said, lounging on a couch, watching his Cosmopolitan swirl in the glass.

"What?" Butler turned around sharply from his walk to conduct the tests.

"You heard me."

"But Artemis!—"

"Kill her. If it's not done in two hours—I want you to collect the data for the last time—then you will be punished. You already have ten lashes for calling me by my first name."

"Yes, Master Artemis," Butler said quickly. "But won't you witness it?"

Artemis swirled the contents of his drink around. A small, evil, smile appeared on his face.

"That is a very good idea. I will be down there in an hour, by which time I will have expected you to be finished with the tests."

Butler started to leave again.

"Butler, wait!" Artemis commanded suddenly.

Butler turned around patiently, fear in his eyes at the task at hand. "Yes, Master?"

"How is sh—_it_ doing?" Artemis asked, eyes narrowing.

Butler looked down at the floor. "She's slipping."

"He's going to kill you today," Butler whispered to her, soft as waves lapping the shore.

Holly looked up at him in surprise. "What?!"

He didn't reply for a while. Then—"He's going to watch."

Determination was in her eyes after that. She would not die easily—she hated her heart for betraying her.

She still loved him, though she didn't want to with a fiery passion.

His icy demeanor matched her fiery one perfectly.

"Hold her, Butler," Artemis commanded as he walked in the room.

"Yes, Master," Butler said dutifully.

"How will you do it?" Of course he knew how she was going to die—it was all a charade for Holly's sake. Only another mind game.

"I-I'm not sure." Butler stuttered, playing his part perfectly.

"Make up your mind quickly. I'm going to converse with the prisoner."

"Yes, Master." Butler stood there, thinking. _What are you going to do, Holly?_

Artemis studied Holly for a second. It was like the beginning—eyes closed, defiant expression, leaning against the bars.

Then he slowly opened the latches as he talked.

"I know you think that I'm an animal now," he began slowly in a low voice. "And perhaps I am. I'm not sure. But it doesn't matter. It may surprise you, but I will extinguish myself after Butler leaves this world. I know that he has told you of my plans. Shocking, yes?"

He started tackling the bottom latch, the top one loose.

"Memories are exactly that—only memories. You think I can change to how I was before? It's too late. I'm already past that, those memories with you and Root and Mulch in the past. Gold even has no value—it is cold, hard, unfeeling. My pain and anguish will not end."

"So you insist upon inflicting it on other's?" Holly spat out.

He did not reply, but a dark expression settled on his face.

"What about me?" Holly whispered to him, coming near his face. "You'll let him kill me?" she asked, as softly as she could.

"Yes. It must be done."

"You want to see my limp, unmoving body? You want to be the robber with the machine gun, the bullets spattering into my heart?"

"Stop it!" Artemis demanded, hands shaking.

"You said you loved me."

He looked at her, eyes ablaze with the fire from Hell. "**I** will kill you if it is necessary."

Sadness filled her eyes, in the shape of tears. His face swam before her, blurred. He opened the metal door slowly, refusing to look at her eyes and her tears. "Come."

Holly wiped away her tears. She stepped out of the cage slowly, then stood right in front of him, their bodies almost touching. He froze, unable to look at her.

She wrapped her arms around him and brought her face close to his. "I love you," she whispered, then pressed her lips against his.

He was tense—he was uncomfortable—he was confused. The part of him that wanted her so bad placed his arms around her, on her hips, and leaned in, their lips conforming to fit perfectly together. The part of him that wanted—no, _needed_ to kill her, to extinguish her from his mind, froze him halfway through his intimate actions.

She could tell and he could tell—they were setting each other free, slipping into a whole other universe, filled with stars and night and ultimately only them.

Holly pulled away before he did.

"Kill me," she whispered, staring at him.

Artemis slapped her as hard as he could across her face. She crumpled on the ground, blackness threatening to swallow her. She fought it, trying to stay awake.

"Kill her, then dispose of her. Use a machine gun. There's one in the basement. I have more pressing issues than to watch the first domino fall." The game was complete.

Butler didn't move, eyes wide, so Artemis left.

Holly watched him go, knowing it would be her last time seeing him. She closed her eyes briefly, seeing his eyes—scared and frightened and hopeful and so _lost._

"Holly—" Butler choked out.

Holly turned to him. "Just do it."

He gulped, then left.

It took her about thirty seconds after he left to realize that the door was open—she could escape.

…Could she?

She stepped softly across the floor, enjoying the cold stone under her feet. She stood in the doorway, savoring the moment, and then stepped out.

_Ra-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-ta-tap. _The silence was broken.

Butler stood there, machine gun in hand, tears rolling down his cheeks.

"I'm so sorry, Holly," he whispered.

There was no reply, only a body lying on the floor, life seeping from her, scarlet liquid pooling around her. Eyes blank, staring up at the ceiling.

_She felt the strangest sensation…a tearing sort of feeling, then she found herself floating. She took a step and tumbled forward—she was almost flying!_

_She found herself floating upwards, to the sky. She saw Butler's tears. _Only an act,_ she thought._

_She slid through the floor, to her surprise. She saw lights everywhere when she closed her eyes, and faint, blurry gates and flying…people?_

_But the most surprising thing, as she flew upward, was Artemis on his bed, staring at the wall across the room, pale droplets sliding down his cheeks._

_She managed to come by him as she slowly floated to the sky. She stared at him, transfixed, and placed a hand on his shoulder, but it just slid through him._

_"It's okay," she murmured, but he couldn't hear her._

_He closed his eyes and was suddenly out of her reach. She closed her eyes and floated up toward the sky._

_She felt no pain. She only felt…could it be?..._

_As Artemis had been left behind on his bed, she had suddenly felt an immense sense of…freedom. Invisible bonds had been broken, and she was the caged bird set free. No longer would he tie her down._

Artemis walked down the steps slowly, composed and ready for another day. "Butler!" he called.

There was no answer.

"Butler! Bu—" he suddenly broke off, discovering the knife, the blood, and the corpse.

He froze, petrified at the sight. For a few seconds he stayed like that. Then he forced himself to take a step, then another. Reaching down, he picked up the note beside his freed bodyguard.

_Artemis,  
Who are you? You have lost yourself so thoroughly, you killed everyone who could have possibly helped you. I can no longer stand by your side willingly—killing Holly was harder than you will ever know. You were not the one with the gun.  
-Domovoi_

Artemis stared at it, mouthing the words soundlessly.

Collapsing onto the floor, he buried his head in his arms.

_What have I done…_

He had never felt so pinned down, so helpless, so…

Trapped…

But Butler was wrong.

He _had_ been the one with the gun, and it had been pointing at him ever since he killed Holly. He had felt her spirit leave her body, had heard her fall to the ground amidst the noisy racket of the gun.

And now it was going to go off.

Artemis picked up the knife, studying it's already crimson blade. He held it down, letting some of the blood drip off the edge slowly.

_Cold,_ he thought, _so cold…_

Then he dove into the black abyss.


End file.
